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Cool Stuff

The holiday season is upon us once again, and that means it's time to pick out Star Wars gifts for your fellow fans. It also means that your family and friends will be on the lookout for cool Star Wars items to give you! As any die-hard collector knows, it can be hard for your family to find something you don't already have, or even just something that you're guaranteed to enjoy. There's a lot of Star Wars merchandise out there, and sifting through it to find the gems of the 2011 holiday season is a task that no one should have to do on his or her own.

That's where we come in. To help you make the right purchases for the Star Wars enthusiasts in your life, staff members from TheForce.Net and Rebelscum.com have recommended a variety of items for the holiday season. We've broken the list into categories, so if you know your gift recipient is interested in a certain type of merchandise, you can skip right to that section and read our recommendations.

Chris Wyman: This one is a no brainer. If the person you are shopping for doesn't already own a copy, The Complete Saga on Blu-ray is the perfect gift this year. With over 40 hours of bonus content including deleted scenes, documentaries, interviews, commentaries and more, it truly is a gift that will keep on giving. With the Blu-ray quality, it's as if the original trilogy was just filmed recently and not 30+ years ago!

Mike Barrick: Now that I've finally taken that step into the larger world of HD viewing, I'm never going back. Until the show ends, I will continue to promote full season box sets of The Clone Wars as fantastic gift ideas. At this point though, I'm focusing on the Blu-ray versions. There is no other way to get the full TCW sight and sound experience than to watch it on Blu-ray. OK, so maybe seeing it in a theater could compare but how are you going to fit a theater in someone's stocking? Let's also not forget the soon-to-be-released UK Blu-ray box set that encompasses Seasons 1 through 3. The set is listed as region free and would be a fantastic way to bring a newbie into the Clone Wars fold.

Mike Barrick: Short, sweet and fun as hell! The modest bonus features are fun, but the television special itself is well worth the $13 online Walmart price (especially since that price includes both a DVD and Blu-ray version).

Dustin Roberts: This book gives readers a look into the Jedi culture, through their own eyes so to speak. The book is designed as if it were the personal handbook of several Jedi we've all grown to love. There are hand written notes from the various Jedi who have studied from it, making it a great read. There is also quite a bit of artwork included. For the price of around $20 this is a great gift idea for both the casual fan, and hardcore Jedi fans.

Chris Wyman: Whether you are a hardcore Star Wars fan or just a casual fan, this book will pick you up, spin you around and then blow your mind with its massive size, weight and content. Jonathan W. Rinzler and Epic Ink packed a crazy amount of beautiful blueprints from all six films along with wonderful commentary by many of the crew involved. It's pricey retailing for $500, but there are deals to be had if you search around. Hardly a stocking stuffer for Christmas morning, but a sure fire winner for the adult fan in your life. Be sure to clear off the coffee table!

Eric Geller: Kemp's latest contribution to the Star Wars Expanded Universe is an all-around good time, featuring a trio of main characters who are classic enough to be familiar yet quirky enough to be unique. Sprinkled throughout the fast-paced story are lessons and musings on the nature of identity and destiny, and it's this combination of light banter and deep psychological issues that makes Riptide a book to remember from 2011's slate of novels.

Mike Barrick: While the 20th Anniversary Edition of Heir to the Empire is a fantastic Star Wars gift idea for the EU collector, Choices of One marks Zahn's return to the OT-era Expanded Universe complete with Grand Admiral Thrawn. As you've come to expect with Timothy Zahn, you can just hear the voices of Mark Hamill, Harison Ford and Carrie Fisher jumping out through the text. If you have an EU-loving friend or family member, this is another fantastic Zahn addition to the GFFA. And if that special someone has yet to read Allegiance, give him or her a Zahn novel two-pack of a gift!

Mike Barrick: Sure the online world is a fanboy's dream, but there's still something great about receiving tangible Star Wars fun in the mail that you can hold and flip through. In these tough economic times, there may be some hardcore fans out there that have let their subscriptions lapse in order to cut back their expenses. If you know one of those fans, then a Star Wars Insider subscription could be a fantastic gift option.

Chris Wyman: Over the past year and a half, the editors at Insider have turned it into a must read magazine. What used to be somewhat of a rehash of the latest Star Wars news is now filled with exclusive interviews, exclusive fiction, contests and you-heard-it-here-first style news. Children and adults alike will enjoy perusing the pages of this well put together bi-monthly magazine. There are three different options to choose from this year between the standard subscription, the standard subscription with an exclusive R2-D2 Magazine Holder and the new digital download subscription. You can't go wrong with giving a year's subscription to Insider this Christmas.

Mike Barrick: I'm a big fan of anything that can be done to introduce the GFFA to even the youngest of younglings. While the subject matter of the films are certainly over the heads of kids who can't even crawl yet, there's no reason why Star Wars imagery, characters and music can't be introduced. So with that in mind, I love the ThinkGeek Plush Star Wars vehicles. They're cute, small and won't dent up your walls when the kids throw them. The Millennium Falcon, an X-Wing and an AT-AT are all available for $9.99 each. They can work as a fun baby toy or as an adorable way to spice up a Star Wars-inspired nursery.

R2-D2 Christmas Ornament
Available from Walmart for $7.50

Dustin Robert: There are always a few different R2-D2 ornaments released each year around Christmas. Some might be the same ornament from last year, only in different packaging this time. However this year I found a cool Clone Wars style R2-D2 ornament at Walmart for only $7.50. The perfect gift for Star Wars fans, or that "white elephant" gift exchange you have at work.

Eric Geller: You can never have enough USB ports attached to your computer, and if you're a die-hard Star Wars fan, you'll want your hub to be stylish but geeky. That's where this astromech-shaped USB hub comes in. As if having R2-D2 display your files for you wasn't good enough, this product "chirps, squeals, and bleeps" when devices are attached. For a movie-accurate data transfer experience, I recommend copying images of the Death Star plans onto a flash drive and plugging the drive into this hub.

Dustin Roberts: Everyone remembers the board game Operation right? Try to remove those little pieces without getting zapped. BZZZZZZTTT! Now throw in a Star Wars crossover and you get R2-D2 Operation! This silly skill game is fun for all ages, and priced at only $20, a great gift idea. Fun Fact! The similar "R2-D2 Repair" was released in the UK back in 2009.

Chris Wyman: Finally, one of my favorite games growing up was Operation. Wanna give someone a heart attack at the age of 8? (waives hand) This is the game you are looking for! Hasbro has finally released a Star Wars version of this classic and challenging game that requires a steady hand. Retailing for just $23, it can provide hours of fun for the whole family. Recommendation: Put on your favorite Star Wars movie soundtrack, have some milk & Star Wars cookies and clear your calendar for game night...Star Wars style!

Chris Wyman: Do you know someone that is missing that hard to find Harrison Ford autograph for their collection? Look no further! Official Pix has several different officially licensed photos to choose from to quickly fill the gap and put a huge smile on their face come Christmas. Check out what's in stock here! While you're there, be sure to browse the rest of the store for other cool Star Wars autographs.

Mike Barrick: Family friendly Star Wars video game fun doesn't get any better than this. In addition, I no longer have to yell at my 5 year old son to move along thanks to the enhanced split screen multiplayer view. This game came out back in March and I don't think it has left my Xbox 360 since. The Story Mode is great fun and, as always with LEGO Star Wars games, Free Mode allows you to release your inner collector in video game form as you try to unlock anything and everything.

Moving into our nineteenth year of shooting Star Wars collectibles, we pause for a moment to consider legacy. Our photography is obviously recognizable because of the blue background, but looking further back, especially after we published The Man Who Shot Luke Skywalker galleries last December, we've put our minds to offering more classic Kenner backgrounds to our galleries. Follow this link to have a look and then let us know if you'd like to continue to explore this train of thought.

Focus on the Rebelscum legacy and keep it blue.

I love the nod to Kenner's history. I'd love to see Rebelscum embrace a more colourful vision.